


Home and somewhere else

by alunsina



Series: exo fills & challenges [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Moving Out, Pining, written before luhan and tao left
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2019-02-27 04:52:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13240821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alunsina/pseuds/alunsina
Summary: Minseok is the first to move out of the dorms.





	Home and somewhere else

Minseok is the first to get a place of his own, a small studio-type affair in one of the building complexes along the Han river. Judging from some of the members’ reactions (see: Lu Han), you’d think he moved to another country instead of a few blocks away.  
  
“You’re complaining when you spend weeks filming in China most of the time.” Minseok says the night before the move, pushing back at Lu Han’s shoulders because he’s still busy packing and he knows an impending death-hug when he sees one. Lu Han’s always been a little more touchy, a little more clingy when they’re bound to be apart for weeks or months on end, never mind they’ve got SNS and handphones to communicate with each other. Minseok understands. There are times he hoards them too, the small touches and moments with the members. The whole group is not forever and the process of growing distances has already started some time ago with increasing personal schedules, with their growing number of personal connections in the business. He doubts he’ll be part of anything as big and as crazy as this one in the future.  
  
Lu Han is pouting at him. He’s nearer thirty than twenty and still has no shame. “What will you do about Tao? He’s still crying in his room because he thinks you hate him and you’re just sitting here calmly rolling up your socks- Hey, that’s mine!”  
  
Minseok sighs. “I have the same pair. Tao’s not crying because I’m leaving. He’s upset I didn’t let him choose the carpeting and the color of my drapes.”   
  
It’s true though Tao also cried when Minseok announced to the group that he’ll be living on his own. Cried again during the surprise going-away party Joonmyun threw for Minseok two weeks ago. They held it in the station’s waiting room during their last day of promotions, and it was overall chaotic and messy: no one was listening to Joonmyun trying to MC the whole thing, and both Chanyeol and Baekhyun were allergic to the gloomy party atmosphere. Press managed to sneak in and they had to fend off rumors for a week about Minseok leaving EXO before things settled down.  
All this trouble for wanting a little bit of space to himself.  
  
“I’ll call and yes, I’ll let you stay over first thing.” Minseok lets himself submit to Lu Han’s brusque death-hug this time, ignoring the hundred other stuff in his to-do list: getting the random shit Baekhyun’s stolen from him, comforting Tao, saying goodbye to the rest of the members, talking with the managers. “Hey, we’ll still see each other tomorrow at work. At least before China claims both you and Yixing for another couple of weeks.”  
  
“Jongdae will miss you.” Lu Han says, and random or not it twigs something in the back of Minseok’s mind. He laughs instead.  
  
It is easier to deal with the others once he finishes talking to Tao and Yixing, with Lu Han helping him carry his bags and boxes instead of stopping him from leaving. Joonmyun and the managers check and re-check that they’ve got the address right and Minseok reassures them he’ll show up for the schedule the next morning.   
  
“Guess we all have to do with proper alarm clocks now.” Chanyeol jokes, stuffing the last of the boxes in the trunk of Minseok’s car. They exchange brotherly pats in the shoulders, one last sneak hug for Yixing who trails behind with Minseok’s bag of hats (“-plus five more, from Tao and me,” Yixing says into Minseok’s shoulder) and then Minseok’s behind the steering wheel, rechecking his mental list for the nth time, resisting the urge to reach for his handphone.   
  
Someone bodily smashes the side of his car. Minseok looks up and there’s Jongdae’s face in the passenger side windows, scrabbling at the car door like Minseok summoned him right out of the dark ether.   
  
“Whew, I made it.” Jongdae says once he gets the car door open and settles himself beside Minseok, looking smug.  
  
“Aren’t you supposed to be recording?”  
  
“Nailed it with the first couple of tries, rushed manager-hyung, and I ran here really really fast.” He smiles, grabbing at Minseok’s arm and it feels like he’s grabbing at something inside Minseok’s chest. “You thought I wouldn’t get to say goodbye to my favorite hyung?”  
  
“Don’t let Lu Han and Yixing hear you.” And then he’s being pulled into a smothering if slightly uncomfortable hug, gear shift digging into his side and the hand inside his chest squeezes and tightens. Jongdae’s digging his chin like a little shit into the side of his neck but he lets it be.  
  
“Come on, I don’t have all night.”  
  
“I’m coming with you, hyung, before the whole dorm goes to shit and I’m forced to take over cleaning duties.”   
  
The hug has gone on long enough. Minseok pulls away and hopes the color of his face is not obvious in the dark. “The managers are going to kill you. Or Tao would drown you in his tears.”  
  
Jongdae frowns. “Lu Han hyung would probably gut me first.” Minseok laughs. “No really hyung, I’ll help you unpack.”  
  
Minseok looks down at his hands. “I’m not driving you back here.” He should’ve driven off first thing instead of stalling. Now it’s substantially more difficult to leave. “You should go inside. They might be wondering where you’ve been.”  
  
“Yeah.” Jongdae leans back but doesn’t let go of Minseok’s sleeve. “We’ll still have our coffee dates right? And you owe me a cup of cappuccino. I won’t settle for anything less than your homemade one.”  
  
Coffee dates. He shakes his head. “Okay, if you say so.” Jongdae squeezes his arm one last time and lets himself out of the car. Minseok starts the engine once Jongdae makes it safely back into the dorm.  
  
The drive to his building feels longer than it should’ve been. When Minseok finally arrives he feels wrung out and tired and the hand in his chest hasn’t let up one bit.

**Author's Note:**

> some version of this is floating in exomeme. written for the worldcupexo event.


End file.
